Movies

Centurion

Centurion, in a way, proves that Marshall learned from the big mistakes of Doomsday; it’s focused, it makes sense, and while other films might have covered the same ground in the past, it certainly doesn’t rip scenes from them tit-for-tat. Beautiful looking and action packed, Centurion is certainly what the doctor ordered if you’re just looking for a superficial experience. But without character development or a strong stand-out performance, it’s destined for nothing more than lazy Saturday afternoon reruns on USA.

Published

16 years ago

August 18, 2010

David Harley

Violent historical epics are a somewhat rare commodity, but scarcer are the ones that are actually worth watching. Neil Marshall – who is revered by horror fans for The Descent and loved by almost no one for the action/sci-fi/exploitation monstrosity Doomsday – follows up his genre studio mish-mash by taking a stab at the all-but-forgotten subgenre with Centurion, which comes complete with rolling fireballs and grandiose melee weapon skirmishes. Unfortunately, the film never elevates beyond being average for a variety of reasons, leaving viewers with something merely on the level with Dog Soldiers in terms of entertainment.

Centurion tells the story of Quintus Dias (Michael Fassbender), the survivor of a Pictish raid on a Roman fort, who teams up with the General Virilus’ (Dominic West) Ninth Legion of Rome to wipe out the Picts and their leader, Gorlacon (Ulrich Thomsen). After the band of men fall into a trap behind enemy lines and Virilus is captured, Dias assumes command of the Legion and races back to the Roman frontier, evading a vicious band of Pict troops led by the vengeful Etain (Olga Kurylenko).

The most interesting aspect of the film, and coincidentally its greatest fault, is that it tells the story from the Roman point-of-view, with the Picts being presented as the antagonists. Historically speaking, Romans are the ones viewed as barbaric and villainous during the 2nd century. It’s a somewhat unique way to explore this chapter in history, considering that horror is the only genre that has successfully had audiences root for the villain on a fairly consistent basis. Regardless, even with full knowledge of the historical context behind the film, the angle would have worked had it not been for the numerous discussions about how the Romans raped and pillaged everything in their path – more specifically, what they did to Etain and her village. It leaves viewers with no one to root for and, in turn, you end up not really caring what happens to anyone because, essentially, they’re all bad guys.

Aside from The Descent, writing has never been Marshall’s strongest suit (that distinction would fall on building tension and action) and Centurion is no exception. The most puzzling part of the script is the introduction of exiled witch Arian (Imogen Poots), is supposed to be a love interest for Dias but there’s no basis for their non-existent relationship, nor is there any chemistry between them. Their few scenes together basically serve as a bridge between the second act and the climax and the only reason for her inclusion in the story is to have somewhere for him to go before the credits roll – which does make sense taking the film’s resolve into account.

Since there is very little character development in the film, the action takes the forefront which is both a blessing and a curse. The action is expertly choreographed and looks beautiful thanks to DP Sam McCurdy, whose style has perfectly bonded with Marshall’s since their work on Dog Soldiers. It is, without a doubt, the film’s strongest attribute. However, aside from a scene early on with the aforementioned fireballs, there is really no variation in the action; in fact, most of the action scenes might as well be considered looped footage, since they mirror each other so closely. Beautiful looking looped footage, but repetitive none the less. Seeing a head loped off loses its luster after it’s been done thirty times in ninety minutes.

Movies

Friday, June 26 – These 4 New Horror Movies Released at Home Today

Published

2 days ago

June 26, 2026

John Squires

Pictured: 'Strung'

This week kicked off with the release of hippo horror movie Hungry at home, and four more horror movies have arrived for at-home viewing as we head into the final weekend of June.

Here are the new horror movies that released on Friday, June 26, 2026!

The Halloween season can no longer be contained to the months of September and October, with “Summerween” becoming a thing in recent years. Essentially, it allows for Halloween to bleed into the warmer Summer months, and the first ever Summerween movie has arrived.

The Asylum released Summerween onto Digital outlets today.

In the film from writer/director Ryan Ebert, “On Summerween, a former circus clown escapes a mental institution to return to his abandoned mansion and hunt the teens partying there.”

Cole Chapleski, Chase Breithoff, Logan Roe, Sophia Sabol, and Clint Morrison star.

Director Ryan Ebert is the man behind a string of recent indie horrors we’ve covered, including Shark Side of the Moon, The Jolly Monkey, Jurassic Reborn, and Predator: Wastelands.

Avalon Fast interview Camp

A witchy coming-of-age story from Dark Sky Films, Camp is now playing in select theaters.

Check your local listings to find a theater near you.

Camp is from writer-director Avalon Fast (Honeycomb, The Serpent’s Skin).

“Emily is the root cause of two devastating tragedies very early in her life, and she feels the weight of these accidents as though cursed. At her father’s suggestion, she takes a position at a summer camp for troubled youth to ease her guilt. When Emily arrives, she is welcomed by the other counselors, who accept her as she is and surround her with peace and forgiveness.

“As Emily begins to believe in a new kind of life, she starts to hear a voice whispering from deep in the woods — one that urges her to go home, and one that may be impossible to ignore.”

The film stars Zola Grimmer in her screen debut alongside Alice Wordsworth, Cherry Moore, Lea Rose Sebastianis (Castration Movie Part 1 & 2, In A Violent Nature), Ella Reece, Austyn Van de Kamp (This Too Shall Pass), Sophie Bawks-Smith (Honeycomb), Izza Jarvis, and Aiden Laudersmith.

Producers Tyler Perry and Jason Blum have joined forces for Peacock Original Strung.

The film is now streaming only on Peacock.

“A talented violinist takes a prestigious job as a music tutor for the gifted daughter of an influential and enigmatic family. As she becomes entangled in their opulent world, unsettling secrets begin to surface, forcing her to question her safety, her dreams, and even her sanity.”

Malcolm D. Lee (Scary Movie 5, Space Jam: A New Legacy) directs from a script written by Alan B. McElroy (Wrong Turn, Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers).

Chloe Bailey (“Swarm“), Lynn Whitfield (Jaws: The Revenge), Lucien Laviscount (“Scream Queens”), Anna Diop (Us), Coco Jones (Vampires vs. the Bronx), Langley Kirkwood (“Banshee”), and Romy Woods star in Peacock’s Strung.

Produced by Diablo Cody, director Meredith Alloway’s Forbidden Fruits brought a new coven of witches to the big screen earlier this year, and it’s now streaming on Shudder.

Lola Tung (“The Summer I Turned Pretty”), Victoria Pedretti (“The Haunting of Hill House”), Alexandra Shipp (Tragedy Girls), Gabrielle Union (Breaking In), and Emma Chamberlain star in Forbidden Fruits, released by IFC and Shudder.

Free Eden employee Apple secretly runs a witchy femme cult in the basement of the mall store after hours. But when new hire Pumpkin challenges the group’s ‘girl boss’ ways, the women are forced to face their own poisons or succumb to a bloody fate.

“Forbidden Fruits grabbed me by the neck the very first time I read it,” Diablo Cody said. “It’s one of the craziest, most creative, beautifully bonkers projects I’ve ever worked on.”

Meagan Navarro writes in her review for Bloody Disgusting, “Forbidden Fruits may not necessarily forge new terrain in the teen satire space, but Alloway brings so much style and energy to her well-cast single-location stage play adaptation for the Gen Z crowd.”

The film is an adaptation of playwright Lily Houghton’s stage play Of the Women Came the Beginning of Sin and Through Her We All Die. Alloway and Houghton co-adapted.